


My Galaxy

by ShootiNgSt4r



Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Assistant Baker Baekhyun, Dancer Kai/Jongin, Doctor/Healer Lay, F/M, Half-Human Half Faerie Chen/Jongdae, Kim Taehyung | V & Park Jimin Are Best Friends, Kingdom!AU, Knight!Sehun, Magician!Hoseok, Prince!Seokjin, Robin Hood References, Royal Tutor Kyungsoo/DO, Secret Identity, Taehyung and Yoongi are also best friends, catshifter!Minseok/Xiumin, palaceguard!chanyeol, prince!jungkook, royal counsellor suho/joonmyun, royalmagician!namjoon, thief!AU, thief!taehyung, thief!yoongi, warlock!Jimin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-04 01:18:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10980336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShootiNgSt4r/pseuds/ShootiNgSt4r
Summary: There is a boy, whose name is known all over the kingdom. The people whisper it, some reverently, some angrily, some exasperatedly.He is said to be wild and dangerous, a thief, a legend. He is the poor people's saviour, and the nobles' enemy. He steals from the rich to give to the poor, and yet no one really knows what he looks like. There are many speculations about his identity: he could be the boy next door, or he could actually be a noble himself. He could be a magician, or a shapeshifter. He could in reality be a woman. He could be anyone, could be anything.I, however, know just what he is. He is bold and brave, beautiful both inside and out. He has many fears but overcomes them to help his people and he would make a better prince than the prince himself. He laughs a lot, talks a lot, and loves to watch the sky from someplace high up. He may be an outcast, a wanted criminal, a sinner to the world, but to me, he makes this gray world a little brighter by doing what he does, and I wouldn't have it any other way. He is my lover, my secret, my friend. He is my sky, he is the stars we watch at night. He is my galaxy.





	1. Introduction : Images

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on AsianFanfics. (ID: LadyMidnight)  
> Written for the EXO/BTS Fanfic contest on AFF, for Laulau95.
> 
> Prompts :  
> “The world may disapprove, but my world is only you. And if we’re sinners, then it feels like heaven to me.” – Sinners , Lauren Aquilin  
> “When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.” – V for Vendetta ( 2005)
> 
> Loosely based on Robin Hood. I guess you could call it a RobinHood!AU.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> None of the art belongs to me!! I found all of them on the Internet (google), all credit goes to the original artist(s)!!
> 
> Before I start my story, I wanted to give you some images of the Kingdom where the story takes place. None of the images are mine, but they fit the overall feeling that I want my Kingdom to have.

The Kingdom of Kien:

 

Market Day:

 

Esp Woods:

The House in the Woods:

 


	2. The Dancing Girl

* * *

The sun rose hot and bright on the morning of Prince Jungkook's 13th birthday. The Prince's birthday was to be celebrated on the same day as the month's market day, and the whole kingdom buzzed with life. Preparations for the day were already in full swing, merchants bustling to and fro with crates full of wares to sell and setting up their stalls. Banners flew from the castle ramparts. Wagon after wagon trundled through the gates of the city, bringing people from all over the kingdom to the capital, and the streets were overflowing with stalls and kiosks setting out their wares and preparing for the day's sales.

A young boy's 13th birthday was special - from his birth day on, the Prince would be an official citizen of the Kingdom, allowed to carry his own weapons and be treated as an equal in a conversation. Of course, he would have to wait until his 18th in order to become a fully grown man and come into his inheritance, but boys in their teens were called Halflings in Kien, while younger children had no social status at all. This didn't mean that children were abused or abandoned - on the contrary, the high mortality rate meant all and any children were treated with the utmost care. They just didn't have any social status, that was all.

Kien was a small realm - small, but powerful. It was famous for its beautiful colours and brightly dyed fabrics, for its breathtaking scenery and picturesque castle. Kien's dancers and performers were the best in the world, their skill widely acknowledged to be without equal. Every market day, held once a month, visitors from neighbouring countries would flock to Erithea, capital city of Kien. Performances and magic shows were held on every street corner and busy square, and the delicious aroma of all kinds of snacks wafted through the air. Wares from all over the realm were on full display - bright, colourful rolls of dyed cloth, lavishly decorated shawls and fans and delicate pottery.

Deborah Hwang loved her country. Kien was a lovely place to live, full of natural beauty and bright colours. Once, it had also been a happy place, both nobles and commoners sharing in the riches their trading brought. The streets were always full of laughter and the gates to the Castle were always thrown wide open - petitioners could ask to see the King and Queen at any time. Their problems were sure to be listened to and help always came. The King ruled with certainty and wisdom and the Queen watched over the Kingdom with compassion and love, and the young Crown prince was well on his way to becoming a great ruler, just like his father before him.

However, that had all changed on the eve of Crown Prince Seokjin's 18th birthday. The whole country had been excited for the coming of age ceremony, for Prince Seokjin was loved by all. He was beautiful and brave, kind and compassionate - a true royal in both bearing and character. He had inherited only the best from his parents - he had his father's manly good looks and broad shoulders, his mother's delicate, pretty features and gracefulness. He had his father's bravery and intelligence, his mother's loving heart and caring nature. All agreed that he was going to be a great king.

On the night before the ceremony, disaster struck. The old King and his Queen were brutally murdered by the Duke of the Northern Hills, the Queen's own brother, who had become blind with greed. Prince Seokjin had to flee the country, chased by assassins and fighting for his life. No one knew what had become of him - he'd managed to escape safely that night, but nothing had been heard of the young Prince since. His younger brother, Prince Jungkook, had only been allowed to live because the usurper had no heir of his own. He took the then 8 year old boy in under his wing and raised him to be obedient and unquestioning, a mere puppet sitting on the throne while his uncle manipulated the strings behind him.

That was how Duke Seo In-Guk, formerly Lord of the Northern Hills, came into power and became the Lord Regent of Kien. He took over the Kingdom and changed the laws, manipulating the people and demanding more and more taxes as his greed for gold grew. The young Prince was helpless in his hands and slowly but steadily, the realm grew miserable. You could see it in the way the people's clothes grew threadbare and the light in their eyes died, as they struggled to pay the steadily growing amount of taxes. People started starving and children came begging for scraps at the doors of the nobles.  

Outwardly, Kien remained the same - merchants still sold their wares and trade with the neighbouring countries thrived - but none of that gold found its way into the poor folk's pockets.

One year into the Lord Regent's reign, something incredible happened. Someone broke into the castle's underground vaults and stole no less than 300 golden ingots, leaving only a single large V, painted in dark purple on the walls of the empty safe, behind. This unknown thief then proceeded to spread this stolen gold all through the kingdom, leaving exactly 10 ingots in each of Kien's 30 districts. News of this event spread like wildfire and a new legend was born - that of the mysterious thief V, hero of the people and helper of the poor. After that, V continued to strike. His targets were the Lord Regent's stacks of gold, the fat noblemen's secret vaults, the tax collector's carriage. Whatever he stole, he returned to the people. The strange thing was, no one knew this mysterious helper's real identity. The only name they could give him was V, from the sign he always left behind. There were rumours of sightings - V was a boy, they said, a mere Halfling, too young to be a real man. He was said to wear dark, mottled green clothing, a cowl covering his head and a mask hiding his features. He lived in the forest, they said, in the depths of Esp Woods. Stories started cropping up, tales of a handsome, dashing young thief who could enter the deepest dungeons and most secret safes, who could climb walls and work magic. Pretty soon, V became a common household name - a national hero, the people's mascot and the infuriated Lord Regent's worst enemy.

Around a year and a half after his first enterprise, V was joined by a partner - Suga was the name left behind, in dark acid green paint this time, beside the trademark purple letter V.

The seneschals of the different districts, to whom the notorious thief handed the treasures he had stolen to give to those in need, recounted that Suga was yet another boy, shorter and slighter than V, but with eyes that gave you shivers and a death glare that could leave you quaking in your shoes. The Lord Regent Seo In-guk was furious - V and Suga were declared outcasts, wanted criminals preemptively sentenced to death. Their names were splattered all across the kingdom on large WANTED posters, with the astounding sum of 10 thousand golden Marks to be given as a reward to he who turned them in. It was a tempting amount, especially with the poverty ravaging the whole country, but there was no commoner in the land who had not been saved sometime or another by V's gifts, and to turn him in was simply unthinkable. Therefore, the posters remained stuck in the same place for years on end, the large black characters fading to a dirty gray and the corners peeling off the walls and curling back on themselves.

For the Lord Regent, it was infuriating, to say the least. Nowhere was safe from V's wandering hands, for the notorious thief seemed capable of penetrating the strongest security he could afford and accessing the deepest dungeons and safest strongholds with seemingly no effort at all.

There were many rumours and speculations about his true identity. Some claimed he was a magician, who could teleport in and out of the trickiest safe places. Some said he was a shapeshifter, who could change his appearance at will and therefore had a hundred different disguises he could morph into and use. Some believed he was just a clever little sneak-thief with Lady Luck on his side, while some said he was really a god in human form, who had come to fight for the people and answer their prayers.

Deborah's father thought that was all codswallop.

"Wishy-washy nonsense," he scoffed one day as he folded up his newspaper and leaned back in his armchair. "This V boy is a genius who put his mind to good use and that's all there is to it. _God that came down from the heavens_ \- pah! The things people come up with!"

Her sister's thoughts were slightly different. "There's got to be a magician helping him, if he isn't one himself," she told her as she bustled around the bakery filling up trays with newly baked goods. "There are some things normal humans aren't capable of– I should know, remember?" and Deborah had to agree she was right, for who would know better about things magicians could do and humans couldn't than the woman who had married a magician herself?

Deborah didn't know at first what to think of this nameless, faceless thief who was fast becoming a legendary hero. Her friends all worshipped him, swooning over fictitious stories featuring a handsome, dashing V and a beautiful, virtuous maiden that he fell for at first sight. The story-lines were laughable and overly romantic, she thought privately, but the girls lapped it all up like it was honey nectar.

Gradually, she realized that V was more than just a petty robber slash literal saint, as the villagers proclaimed him to be. To her, V was the personification of compassion and bravery, someone who wasn't afraid to break some rules if it was the right thing to do. She admired and respected him for that.

Her parents often scolded Deborah for being such a rebellious child - or rather, they called it rebelling, while she called it _having my own opinion and sticking to it, never mind the rules_. She had her own code of justice and back when she was younger, she would often come home with a bloodied nose or scraped fists, having rushed to the aid of some poor soul who was being bullied by the bigger and tougher kids.

She spent her childhood roaming the streets whenever she wasn't helping at the bakery, running errands and doing small jobs to earn some extra money while making new friends and exploring the winding alleys of the city. Of course, it could get quite dangerous sometimes, and her knowledge of the different backstreets and shortcuts came in handy on more than one occasion. She kept a dagger in her boot at all times, just in case she ever ran into serious trouble.

By the time she turned 15, her father was despairing of ever turning his daughter into a prim, proper young lady who didn't always have hair wild from running or mud on her boots, leggings under her skirt or a knife kept hidden in her shoe all the time.

 

On the dawn of the young Prince's 13th birthday, the bakery was in an uproar. Her family's bakery was the best loved bakery in Erithea, and the Lord Regent and the Prince themselves ate their products. For the young Prince's birthday ceremony, the Royal Councellor had placed a massive order of cupcakes and cookies, foreign delicacies and sweet confections.

They had already started baking the orders - her sister had spent the whole of the day before in the baking room at the back of the bakery, baking pies and tarts, cookies and cakes, setting them all aside carefully to be preserved for the Market Day. They were all up at the crack of dawn the next morning, icing the cupcakes and whipping up cream for the cakes, decorating the pre-baked goods and baking the delicacies that had to be made the day of.

Finally, the goods were all done and set out on pretty display stands, and the shop was ready for opening. Standing behind the counter next to her sister with a snow white apron on over her skirt, Deborah forced a smile on her face, ready to greet the customers.

Sometime before noon, the shop was finally empty. The whole morning had been a continuous stream of people flitting in and out of the bakery, shouting out orders over the din and waving their pre-order slips over their heads. The stream had slowed to a trickle and then finally petered to a stop, to Deborah's enormous relief. Her sister had disappeared back into the baking room to refill some of the empty trays, taking Baekhyun with her and leaving her alone in the empty bakery. Deborah could feel a headache coming on and she laid her hot forehead down on the cool counter, sighing tiredly. 

The bell tinkled, signalling a new customer, and she jerked upright, pasting a smile on her face. "Welcome to our bakery," she said brightly, the words leaving her mouth almost automatically. "What would you like tod-" she broke off when she noticed who it was that had strolled in.

"Hey, cuz," Kim Jongdae grinned his signature Cheshire cat grin at his cousin, hair as windswept as always and black eyes twinkling mischievously.

Deborah's favourite cousin and best friend, Jongdae was half-Faerie and half-human. Years before, her aunt had fallen in love with a Faerie knight and they had had a child together - Jongdae, or Chen, as he was called in the Faerie tongue. He'd ended up leaving her in the end - the Fae were not known for their fidelity, since their life span was several times longer than that of a human - but she'd had Jongdae to make up for her loss and she had showered the child with love. As a result, Jongdae grew up slightly spoilt, but he was a kind and caring soul, on the whole. He was also extremely playful, and the two had gotten in trouble many times for their pranks. He was the same age as Deborah was, but his Faerie blood made his body age slightly slower than hers and physically he was still the size of a fifteen year old boy, to his utmost frustration.

"Hi, Chen," she smiled fondly. She liked to call him Chen, it was easier to say than Jongdae and it was her way of showing him affection. "What're you doing here?" He hopped up onto the counter and snagged a muffin from the display stand next to him.

"M'hungry," he grunted through a mouthful of blueberry muffin, spraying crumbs everywhere. His cousin made a face and leaned away from him.

"When are you ever  _not_ hungry?" her sister chimed in, poking her head through the door of the baking room. "Hey, Jongdae," she added as an afterthought, and Chen waved at her as she disappeared back into the other room. 

"Tell me, then, why are you _really_ here?" Deborah asked, curious now. He grinned and dusted off his hands. Swallowing down the last of the muffin, he shot her a cheeky look.

"Aren't you going to watch the royal parade today?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I came here to offer to escort you, of course. Every lady needs an escort." He stood up and bowed obnoxiously, wiggling his eyebrows at the girl behind the counter. She rolled her eyes.

"I wish," she said sourly, slapping the back of his head. "It's market day, remember? We're up to our foreheads in orders - papa would never let me leave."

As much as she wished she could go with him, she knew her parents would never let her leave on such a busy day. This month was especially hectic, since the Lord Regent had decided to hold a parade in honour of the second prince's 13th birthday.

"Aww, come on," he whined, making puppy eyes and pouting up at her. "I don't want to have to go all alone!" he looked around furtively and lowered his voice, leaning in closer. "Besides," he whispered, "who will dance with me then?" Deborah's heart skipped a beat and she looked around quickly, making sure her sister was out of earshot.  

Deborah loved Market days. She loved the music and the life, the sheer energy of it all. The vibrant colours and the shrill trilling of reeds, the smooth sound of the strings, the low timbres of the bass. The rhythmic beat of the drums creeping under her skin and making her pulse jump and thrill, the delicious aromas wafting through the air and the flickering lanterns hanging from wires crisscrossing the streets above the people's heads - she loved it all.

Every time, no matter how busy the bakery was, she would find a way to slip out through the back door and join Jongdae, weaving through the crowded streets and enjoying the moment of stolen freedom. Jongdae always insisted they meet up with Kai, his dancer friend, and despite all her protests and half-hearted reproaches, the two would always end up performing along with him, their identities hidden behind tasselled silk face masks and borrowed dancer clothes.

She didn't know what her parents would do if they found out she was dancing on the streets - although it was a perfectly safe and respectable job, many of the older folk still tended to look down on dancers and view them as nothing more than prostitutes.

Deborah didn't agree. Although the costumes were much more revealing than the normal skirt and blouse girls wore, they didn't show too much skin, covering them instead in thin, semi-transparent fabrics that floated through the air with every move she made. The boys wore no shirts, their bare skin covered in oil to make them gleam, clothed in flashy, colourful loose pants with tiny bells tinkling with every twist and turn. Her own clothes were slightly different. A small top that revealed her stomach and loose pants similar to the boys' were covered up by a feather-light transparent top with belled sleeves and a multi-layered skirt made of floaty, transparent fabrics.

She found the outfits beautiful. When she lifted her arms, a string around each of her middle fingers connected them to the ends of the skirt and caused the loose fabrics to lift, creating the illusion of having wings. They danced in flat slippers the colour of their costumes, the lower halves of their faces covered by silken masks that left only their eyes and foreheads visible. The tinkling of the bells and the foot-stomping music created a sweet harmony that they abandoned themselves to and she lost herself in the music, forgetting the watching crowd and seeing nothing but the music and the boys dancing beside her. It was one of her guilty pleasures.

Chen was still waiting for an answer. She hesitated, looking down at his hopeful eyes. "Alright," she hissed finally, glancing guiltily at the door to the baking room. "But we'll have to come straight back after dancing - I can't be absent for too long or my family will kill me. We can ask permission to go see the parade later, they'll probably let me go if you beg them."

Jongdae grinned triumphantly. Sighing, Deborah glanced quickly at the door behind them before slipping off her white apron and dusting herself down.

"Meet me at the usual place," she whispered to Jongdae who nodded and disappeared in a smooth flash of limbs. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at the bustling streets outside and ran a cursory glance over the empty shop before slipping into the baking room as quietly as she could. Inside, it was almost stiflingly hot, the huge ovens contributing to the heat. The counters were covered with cooling trays of pastry puffs and oven pans of cookie dough waiting their turn. She could hear her parents discussing a cancelled order near the pantry, and her sister's trademark red hair could be spotted inside the open door of the office. Her eyes rapidly scanned the whole area, looking for a certain small, blond haired young man. She found him decorating a huge cake near the back of the cool, dark workroom.

"Baek!" she hissed in relief, ducking behind a counter to reach him without being seen. The frazzled looking boy looked up, a smudge of chocolate on his cheek.

"Hey," he greeted, frowning a little in confusion. "Aren't you supposed to be at the counter?"

She nodded sheepishly, and it only took a second for him to catch on. "Ah." He raised an eyebrow, laying down the bowl of cream and crossing his arms. "Sneaking out again?"

Deborah merely batted her eyelashes up at him pleadingly, doing her best to copy Chen's puppy eyes. Baekhyun chuckled, ruffling her hair fondly.

"Fine," he told her, smiling. "But come back soon! I don't want to get into trouble again like last time." Grinning, Deborah launched herself at the older boy, careful not to knock into the cake.

"Thanks, Baek," she laughed quietly into his shoulder. "You're the best!"

"Say hi to Chanyeol for me if you see him," was the only reply she got, the assistant baker turning back to his masterpiece. 

"Will do," she chirped happily, slipping out the back door. She darted through the narrow alleyways, avoiding the larger streets, until she reached a small, rickety old building on the corner of a dirty, deserted old square. She climbed the creaking stairs, nimbly avoiding the occasional missing plank, and knocked on the battered old door at the end of the hallway. The door cracked open and a brown eye peeked out at her before the door was thrown wide open.

"Deborah!" the little girl squealed, hugging her waist tightly.

"Hey, sweetie," Deborah laughed, crouching down to meet the girl's eyes. "How've you been?"

The girl crinkled her nose. "Jongin oppa made cabbage soup again," she complained. "I hate cabbage soup. It tastes like dirt. Yuck." She stuck out her tongue in disgust, pretending to retch.

"Yah!" a tan brown hand reached out to lightly cuff her around the head, making her glower hotly at the offender. "Cabbage soup is good for you, how many times must I say it?" The girl simply rolled her eyes before flouncing away. Deborah stood to greet the owner of the voice, smiling at him warmly.

"Hello, Deborah," Kai smiled at her, leading her deeper into the house. "Chen told me you were coming." The boy was already dressed in his dancer clothes, tan skin gleaming with sweat and oil. She blushed slightly at the sight of his broad back, but it was something she had gotten used to with time and she managed to shrug off the feeling of shy self consciousness as they entered the living room. The small room was sparsely decorated, a single dirty rug lying in the middle of the room. A crooked table with three small stools stood near the back and an old rocking chair stood near the grimy window. An old lady sat in the rocking chair, a warm blanket covering her spindly legs and a mug of hot tea in her hand.

"Hello, Grandma Hilda," she greeted her softly, hugging the frail figure carefully. The old lady smiled, patting her cheek fondly with a wrinkled hand. Grandma Hilda had grown blind with old age, and she rarely spoke anymore, but she loved Deborah's visits and always looked forward to them. Jongdae sat at her feet, playing with the loose threads on her blanket. After a moment, Jongin came out of the bedroom holding two familiar outfits and held them out to the two cousins with a smile. Sighing resignedly, Deborah took hers, a small happy smile playing on her lips despite her sigh. The two quickly changed into their costumes, helping each other securely tie their face masks. Jongin's little sister, Krystal, clapped delightedly, a wide smile on her face. She wanted to come with them, but Kai forbade her to come, worried for the little girl's safety. The three left her pouting on Grandma Hilda's lap, weaving their way through the busy streets until they reached their usual stage, a small wooden dance floor in front of a music record store.

The owner of this store, Minseok, was a close friend of Kai's and always let them use his gramophones for their performances. Minseok was a cat-shifter, and his tufty cat ears poked out from above his fluffy brown hair, twitching at every little sound. He smiled at them when they arrived, sweating slightly in the hot sun.

"I was wondering when you would show up," he told them, lugging his huge gramophone outside. "Which song do you want?"

"The one you played for me last week, please," Jongin requested. "Remember, you told me you wanted me to listen to your new favourite song?"

"Ah," Minseok nodded in recognition, hurrying back inside the shop to search for the record. He was back in no time, long tail swishing excitedly as he prepared the song. Meanwhile, the three prepared themselves, stretching their limbs lightly as they waited. A crowd was already forming - Jongin was well known to be a phenomenal dancer, which was why he wore no mask. The others were also rather well known. People who saw them dance wondered who the two mysterious dancers were, but Kai never told, simply smiling mysteriously when asked who his friends were. As a result, there came to be people who looked forward to seeing the three dance every Market day.

Minseok nodded at Jongin, placing a large tin can in front of the stage near the gramophone. When Kai nodded back, he placed the needle on the vinyl record, and the song began playing. It was a simple piece, graceful and light but with an energy palpable through the beat, and the three let themselves melt into the music, forgetting the crowd and focusing simply on dancing. All three had different styles - Jongin was lithe and graceful, with powerful, smooth moves and the unmistakable skill of an expert. Deborah's dancing was less skilled but just as graceful, her spins and steps light as a feather. The fluttering clothes contributed to the image of a butterfly flitting through the sky. Jongdae was the least skilled out of the three, but his eagerness and love for dancing made up for it. Chen's dancing was more about the _groove_ , and the people loved the way his sass and playfulness oozed out of his every move. They danced and danced, Minseok playing song after song, until they were exhausted and the tin can was almost overflowing. They finally ended with a boppy, fun number, which had everyone dancing along with them. Happy, tired and sweaty beyond belief, they smiled and bowed at the applauding audience before thanking Minseok and leaving for Jongin's house. There, they quickly washed up and changed back into their clothes. Jongdae decided to stay for lunch, but Deborah had to rush back to the bakery where her parents had thankfully failed to notice her absence, thanks to Baekhyun's quick excuses. The fact that the bakery was even busier than before had also distracted them from her disappearance. Feeling slightly guilty, Deborah threw herself back into the whirlwind of action with enthusiasm, rushing to and fro without a break.

* * *

 

A young man weaved expertly through the crowd, humming happily. His friend huffed in exasperation behind him, struggling to keep up with the tall boy.

"Yah! Kim Taehyung!" he yelled, as he stumbled yet again. It was times like these when he _really_ hated how short he was. A large hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked him upright, saving him from falling on his face. The boy lifted his eyes to see his best friend grinning apologetically. He huffed, snatching his hand back and crossing his arms angrily.

"Sorry, sorry," Taehyung apologized, clinging to his friend's side. He pouted down at the shorter boy, looking like an adorable kicked puppy. "Please forgive me, ChimChim!"

Park Jimin huffed another sigh, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics, but uncrossed his arms anyway. "Don't leave me like that again," he scolded, glaring at the taller boy, who nodded eagerly. "Come on," he said, turning away. This time, Taehyung stuck close by him, protecting him from the jostling crowd. The two managed to reach their destination in safety - a small music store that sold vinyl records and gramophones. They nodded to the store owner as they passed the counter, making a beeline to their favourite corner where another boy was waiting. The pale blond boy was also small. He had a small frown on his face as he compared two vinyl records, examining the covers carefully.

"Hyung!" Jimin chirped, skipping to his side. The other turned to look at the happy boy next to him, a fond smile smoothing his features.

"Hey,  Jimin, Taehyung," he greeted them. His voice was gravelly and gruff, much lower than Jimin's.

"Hi, Yoongi hyung," Taehyung joined them, bouncing slightly on his feet. "Are you ready for tonight?"

Yoongi scowled, glancing around warily. "Be a little louder, will you?" he snapped. "It's like you actually _want_ to announce your identity to the world sometimes."

Taehyung merely grinned, leaning comfortably against a shelf of records. "Relax, hyung. No one's here, anyway." Yoongi rolled his eyes, but let it go. Jimin tugged at his arm, regaining his attention.

"What were you looking at, hyung?" he asked, peering curiously at the records Yoongi held. The older boy started explaining the differences between the two, and Taehyung zoned out, letting his attention wander. The shop owner had left the shop, he noticed, craning his neck to see where he had gone. He could make out several figures in front of the shop, dressed in dancer clothes. Curious, he wandered closer, leaving his friends behind. Minseok, the shop owner, suddenly darted back in, grabbing a record from under the counter and rushing out again. Taehyung followed him, noting that a crowd was starting to form around the three dancers he had noticed before. They were around his age, two boys and one girl. The girl and the smaller boy had masks on, covering their faces. Taehyung was about to reenter the store when the music started playing and the group started to dance. He stopped, entranced. The boy without the mask was clearly the best dancer of the three, his sharp and fluid movements flowing like water, but it was the girl who caught his eye. Eyes far away, the girl danced with a passion that shone through her every move. He wondered where her thoughts were, as he watched her flit around the stage. Her expression was one of dreamy ecstasy, eyes hooded and sensual. He'd never seen anything more perfect.

"What are you staring at?" Jimin's curious voice snapped him out of his stupor and he whipped around almost guiltily. His two friends were standing behind him, glancing bemusedly between him and the stage. It was Yoongi who caught on first.

"You find one of them attractive, don't you?" he asked slowly, a shit eating grin spreading across his face. Leave it to Yoongi to imply that it could be one of the boys Taehyung was staring at - in a country where all sorts of pairings existed but not all were condoned, Yoongi was an avid defender of the freedom of sexual orientation. _You are free to choose who you love_ , he stubbornly maintained whenever someone criticized a homosexual or hybrid-human couple. Both Taehyung and Jimin were of the same mind as Yoongi, but neither were as passionate as their friend about the matter. Yoongi was a man who had his own convictions and stuck to them, no matter what anyone else said. For him, the saying "When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty" was true in every way. It was why he and Taehyung did what they did. 

"Really?" Taehyung could practically Jimin's ears perking up at Yoongi's words. "Who??" he persisted, studying the three dancers with interest.

"No one," Taehyung groaned, glaring at Yoongi who simply shrugged smugly back.

"It's the girl, isn't it?" Jimin grinned, glancing back at his best friend. Taehyung spluttered at the knowing look, before turning indignant when he saw the telltale sparks trailing from his friend's short plump fingers.

"That's so not fair," he griped, folding his arms with a growl. "You used your voodoo stuff to find out, didn't you?"

"Screw you, it's not voodoo, it's magic," Jimin huffed.

"Magic, yeah right. That would make you a magician, not a witch," Taehyung shot right back.

"Warlock!" Jimin almost screeched, spluttering with indignation. Both Yoongi and Taehyung had to laugh at his red face. "Warlock, not witch!"

"Yeah, yeah," Taehyung grinned. "A warlock _is_ a male witch, though?" he jibed, sticking out his tongue and dodging when his friend lunged at him.

"Calm, Minnie," Yoongi chuckled, catching Jimin around the waist as he tried in vain to reach Taehyung.

Jimin pouted. "Don't call me Minnie, hyung," he whined. "It makes me sound like a girl!"

"Sure, Minnie."

"Hyung!!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Seo In-guk... Don't hate me for making him the villain!! I just needed someone who looked the part and you have to admit, Seo In-guk would make a great evil king.  
> Also, the BTS members' ages are all mixed up and confused. Jungkook is 13, Jin is 23, V and Jimin are 19, Suga is 22, Namjoon and Hoseok are 21, and Deborah is 18.  
> Back when V first appears, one year into the Lord Regent's reign, Jungkook is 9, Jin is 19, V and Jimin are 15, Suga is 18 and Namjoon and Hoseok are 17, while Deborah is 14.


End file.
